I love all the families I get to take portraits of, but sometimes there is nothing more soothing then driving around alone for a photo treasure hunt!
The faces behind the stories!
My little Loves.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Landscapes I Loved Today...
This morning, I was lucky enough to have a little bit of time to just drive around by myself after dropping Joe off at school. I'm sure there are some people around town wondering who the person is in the silver van stopping with a camera infront of their house! It's ME people!
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Monday, January 2, 2012
Goodbye 2011...
Here it is 1/2/2012 and I'm sitting to write out my last 2011 entry, does that work? :)
This year has been, sigh, well, I'm not actually sure what to call it. It's been amazing, it's been tough, it's been peaceful and it's been full of unrest. This year has been a lot of things at a lot of times and I'm just proud to have gotten through it still completely in love with my husband and my children are still alive! lol I am blessed to have a family who supports us and a God who not only wont give me more than I can handle, but will hold me up when I don't think I can handle as much as He does.
There are two big things that sort of "Define" this year for me. One was in April, when SVT became initials that the Dr's gave to me. The day of my trip to the ER was scary, but it was after that where I struggled most. Learning to give it to the Lord, learning not to panic when I feel a palpitation, learning that I can still live my life. At first, especially with the Dr's telling me it was going to happen again and I shouldn't do any exercise etc, it was really hard for me to live with out being afraid of going back to the ER. Now, it's been 8 months episode free and I've learned that I can live and I can handle a whole heck of a lot with out an episode. The palpitations still really bother me when they happen, and eventually I would love to go to the "Special Specialist" that they wanted me to go to... but, for now, I'll just rely on my creator to know that He knows what He's doing and He made me to live while I'm here. :)
The second was... our move. When we moved to Southern CA, when Joe was 6 months old, when had said it would be for 5 years. Aaron and I both loved Northern CA and hadn't wanted to leave. Five years came and went and we were in our 6th year. We had talked about the possibility of moving back up north, but we LOVED our church and had built up some great relationships in Corona, and Nana & Papa were there. It was really hard to think about moving, but I had also wanted my boys to be raised around cousins... which were all in NorCal. Aaron might have something different to say about this, and might feel differently, but FOR ME, the thing that finally made the decision to move was my heart. Being home alone with the boys when I had an episode, and just the stress of being home alone with them so often... I knew I could really use the help of my parents being on the property with me. There is SO MUCH that could be said about the move, how it happened, when it happened, that it happened sooner than we thought so I had to bust out packing like a crazy woman... How Aaron stayed behind for 2 weeks packing like a crazy man so i could get Joe to his first day of 1st grade. It was just a touch of insanity... but we survived. :)
Since being in Sonoma... The boys have learned to play outside a lot more. They ride their bikes and just pretend crazy things together outside. I LOVE that they are learning to play together a lot better, although we're still working through a lot of fighting too! Just about every morning before school, Joe wakes up at about 6:30 (the alarm is set for 7)... I set his clothes out at night, so they are waiting for him. He gets himself dressed, comes to kiss me good morning and runs out to Grandma's house. Grandma saves Christian children's programs on her TV and they watch Bible stories together and talk about character. My mom has been an amazing blessing to me in helping Joe to learn about character and the right choices in behavior. Joe's at a tough age and he is such a strong willed intelligent boy that it's hard for him to "reign in" his own mind before he gets frustrated at things and acts out. There are a lot of people here (us, my parents, and the staff at the school including his teacher, school counselor and principal who I have met with), who are working to help Joe learn to have control before he loses control and gets in trouble. (Joe... if/when you read this when you're older... so many people are on your side! I wish I could take you for a walk in the past so you could see the hearts of the people right now in your life who love you, pray for you and encourage you... it's not an easy time, but you're so loved and I know you have an amazing heart that really wants to be the best boy you can be... your mind is just so darn smart for your little body and we all know that.) :)
We're still working on the remodel of our Sonoma house... it's going to be beautiful when it's done, and we're so blessed to be here. It's been a challenge for our family, making the transition from SoCal to NorCal with most of our things in storage for about 5 months... but, it's helped me to see how little we actually NEED! ha ha ha I'm sure I will part with much more as we take it out of storage and I realize I haven't needed it for half of a year!
SoCal friends and family who supported us and helped us as we moved... and for all the NorCal friends and family who are helping us get used to it up here! :) Our family is so loved and I just feel incredibly blessed that the Lord gave ME this life!! Wow, how loved am I by my Savior! Amazing!...
On to 2012!!!
This year has been, sigh, well, I'm not actually sure what to call it. It's been amazing, it's been tough, it's been peaceful and it's been full of unrest. This year has been a lot of things at a lot of times and I'm just proud to have gotten through it still completely in love with my husband and my children are still alive! lol I am blessed to have a family who supports us and a God who not only wont give me more than I can handle, but will hold me up when I don't think I can handle as much as He does.
There are two big things that sort of "Define" this year for me. One was in April, when SVT became initials that the Dr's gave to me. The day of my trip to the ER was scary, but it was after that where I struggled most. Learning to give it to the Lord, learning not to panic when I feel a palpitation, learning that I can still live my life. At first, especially with the Dr's telling me it was going to happen again and I shouldn't do any exercise etc, it was really hard for me to live with out being afraid of going back to the ER. Now, it's been 8 months episode free and I've learned that I can live and I can handle a whole heck of a lot with out an episode. The palpitations still really bother me when they happen, and eventually I would love to go to the "Special Specialist" that they wanted me to go to... but, for now, I'll just rely on my creator to know that He knows what He's doing and He made me to live while I'm here. :)
The second was... our move. When we moved to Southern CA, when Joe was 6 months old, when had said it would be for 5 years. Aaron and I both loved Northern CA and hadn't wanted to leave. Five years came and went and we were in our 6th year. We had talked about the possibility of moving back up north, but we LOVED our church and had built up some great relationships in Corona, and Nana & Papa were there. It was really hard to think about moving, but I had also wanted my boys to be raised around cousins... which were all in NorCal. Aaron might have something different to say about this, and might feel differently, but FOR ME, the thing that finally made the decision to move was my heart. Being home alone with the boys when I had an episode, and just the stress of being home alone with them so often... I knew I could really use the help of my parents being on the property with me. There is SO MUCH that could be said about the move, how it happened, when it happened, that it happened sooner than we thought so I had to bust out packing like a crazy woman... How Aaron stayed behind for 2 weeks packing like a crazy man so i could get Joe to his first day of 1st grade. It was just a touch of insanity... but we survived. :)
Since being in Sonoma... The boys have learned to play outside a lot more. They ride their bikes and just pretend crazy things together outside. I LOVE that they are learning to play together a lot better, although we're still working through a lot of fighting too! Just about every morning before school, Joe wakes up at about 6:30 (the alarm is set for 7)... I set his clothes out at night, so they are waiting for him. He gets himself dressed, comes to kiss me good morning and runs out to Grandma's house. Grandma saves Christian children's programs on her TV and they watch Bible stories together and talk about character. My mom has been an amazing blessing to me in helping Joe to learn about character and the right choices in behavior. Joe's at a tough age and he is such a strong willed intelligent boy that it's hard for him to "reign in" his own mind before he gets frustrated at things and acts out. There are a lot of people here (us, my parents, and the staff at the school including his teacher, school counselor and principal who I have met with), who are working to help Joe learn to have control before he loses control and gets in trouble. (Joe... if/when you read this when you're older... so many people are on your side! I wish I could take you for a walk in the past so you could see the hearts of the people right now in your life who love you, pray for you and encourage you... it's not an easy time, but you're so loved and I know you have an amazing heart that really wants to be the best boy you can be... your mind is just so darn smart for your little body and we all know that.) :)
We're still working on the remodel of our Sonoma house... it's going to be beautiful when it's done, and we're so blessed to be here. It's been a challenge for our family, making the transition from SoCal to NorCal with most of our things in storage for about 5 months... but, it's helped me to see how little we actually NEED! ha ha ha I'm sure I will part with much more as we take it out of storage and I realize I haven't needed it for half of a year!
SoCal friends and family who supported us and helped us as we moved... and for all the NorCal friends and family who are helping us get used to it up here! :) Our family is so loved and I just feel incredibly blessed that the Lord gave ME this life!! Wow, how loved am I by my Savior! Amazing!...
On to 2012!!!
Monday, December 19, 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Oak Glen 2011 & Papa's Holiday Shirts...
We had our Annual Trip to Oak Glen for family pictures! Here are a few of my treasures!!
When we moved to Sonoma, Papa sent the boys up with some amazing t-shirts he had drawn on for them to sleep in... "Papa Sized T-Shirts." We're coming up on Christmas now, and they got a fun new package in the mail... Papa Christmas T-Shirts! They absolutely LOVE their new t-shirts and can't wait to have their Nana and Papa visit for Christmas!
When we moved to Sonoma, Papa sent the boys up with some amazing t-shirts he had drawn on for them to sleep in... "Papa Sized T-Shirts." We're coming up on Christmas now, and they got a fun new package in the mail... Papa Christmas T-Shirts! They absolutely LOVE their new t-shirts and can't wait to have their Nana and Papa visit for Christmas!
Boys and being cool...
Ok, so this one isn't for parents to read to their small children! There are "Words," as we say in our house! BUT, I just have to type this out and have in my memory books!
Last Friday, we had Charlie over to spend the night. While our house finishes up getting ready for us to move in, we're staying in the RV together. Aaron was out of town for work, I was in the bedroom section of the RV and all three of the boys stayed in the living room area. They were actually VERY good at going to sleep at night, but it was the morning that turned into the "fun" we had! I was laying in my bed, able to hear everything they were saying. I decided to pretend to still be sleeping to see what they would do.
The "Words" began with "Shut Up." One boy said it, then the other, then the other... Each in their own way, but equally trying to be cool! A part of me wanted to stop them, but I held back my control freak side and just let them think I was sleeping and got a little chuckle out of it.
Then, the "Words" went a little further... "Shut Up" had run it's course, and something else needed to take it up a notch! All of the sudden, I hear Charlie's sweet little voice say proudly and loudly, "What the HELL!" My boys did a quick gasp and then chuckled and said, "What the heck." lol On that note, I had to jump in and put a stop to their mouths before someone took it up another notch!
I will never forget that tiny voice being so proud of his "Big Words." lol He's lucky I was in a good mood or he just might have gotten a good taste of Aunti Cole's soap! ;)
Last Friday, we had Charlie over to spend the night. While our house finishes up getting ready for us to move in, we're staying in the RV together. Aaron was out of town for work, I was in the bedroom section of the RV and all three of the boys stayed in the living room area. They were actually VERY good at going to sleep at night, but it was the morning that turned into the "fun" we had! I was laying in my bed, able to hear everything they were saying. I decided to pretend to still be sleeping to see what they would do.
The "Words" began with "Shut Up." One boy said it, then the other, then the other... Each in their own way, but equally trying to be cool! A part of me wanted to stop them, but I held back my control freak side and just let them think I was sleeping and got a little chuckle out of it.
Then, the "Words" went a little further... "Shut Up" had run it's course, and something else needed to take it up a notch! All of the sudden, I hear Charlie's sweet little voice say proudly and loudly, "What the HELL!" My boys did a quick gasp and then chuckled and said, "What the heck." lol On that note, I had to jump in and put a stop to their mouths before someone took it up another notch!
I will never forget that tiny voice being so proud of his "Big Words." lol He's lucky I was in a good mood or he just might have gotten a good taste of Aunti Cole's soap! ;)
What I Came Home To...
The other day I went to have some "Niece Time" with Lilli... We dyed her hair and had fun, but I didn't get home until about 11pm. Aaron had the night alone with his dudes, and they were to have gone to bed only an hour after I had left. When I got home, I walked in to this picture... with the sound of the "Tangled" menu music going over and over! They all three fell asleep to Tangled and were snug as three bugs in a rug. :) I absolutely LOVED this (and of course had to snap a shot!). They didn't like me when my flash woke them, but they will love to see this later! I love these three guys SO much!
A Conversation I Loved Overhearing!
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| I love my sweet kisses... |
We were visiting my sister's house today when Matthew was in the back bedroom playing with Jacki and Charlie. As Christina and I were working on something in the living room, we overheard a conversation between the three of them. They were talking and then we heard Matthew say, "C is for Christ, while we were sinners, Christ died for us." My heart was so incredibly blessed to hear my 4 year old quoting the scripture he had learned at Awana. I'm so thankful they have the opportunity to go and learn and I LOVE that Matthew is able to express it with others too!
Somebody is a fan of animal print!
Someone asked me today what Matthew is into... The truth is, animals. He LOVES carrying around his "Ti-Long" cheetah stuffed animal (that is currently squished in the middle in this picture). Ti-Long is just about as big as Matthew, but it MUST accompany us wherever we go! Matthew is the definition of a "Cuddle Bug"... Except, it's not with people... it's with creatures. :) The boys LOVES soft things to touch him and I just couldn't pass up this "Animal Print" picture.
Our 45 Degree "Hot Day."
My Handsome Boy...Got me wildflowers...
The other day, I picked Joe up from school. It was about 45 degrees outside with a slight breeze. As we were walking to the car he said, "Mama, could we please go get some ice cream, since it is so hot outside?" I had to laugh at him, as did the lady walking in front of us. I told him, "Joe, you don't need to come up with a story to get an ice cream... just ask and we'll call it a date!" Off we went for our ice cream date!
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